The Girl of Prophecy
by Divine-Faithborn
Summary: <html><head></head>Captain Ichigo Kurosaki could have sworn that he was dreaming. A beautiful city of ice and snow stood in front of his eyes. Urahara had brought him here in the name of great science. The death gods would indeed be conducting 'science' that night. One-shot</html>


**"The Girl of Prophecy" is a oneshot based off an idea that I just could not get out of my head. I could separate it into three parts, but I feel that it stands together as one story fairly well. If you hate back-story you can skip straight to part two, but you may feel a little confused about certain things.**

**These stories take place after Ichigo defeats Aizen (obviously) and do not address the "Xcution" arc or any arcs thereafter. I might convert this from a oneshot to a multi-chapter series but, if I do, it probably will not be any time soon. So, enjoy it and let your imagination take you to undiscovered countries.**

**Disclaimer: Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo and Rosario + Vampire is owned by Akihisa Ikeda. The characters used are not intended for personal profit in any way.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~~~Part One~~~<strong>_

* * *

><p>Ichigo sighed as he gripped his Zanpokuto in his right hand. The blade reflected the sun's light and responded warmly to his touch. It had been three years of hard work, but he had finally recovered almost all his shinigami powers. Three years ago, when he had lost them, he felt powerless. His resolved swayed by the inability to protect those he cared for. Now he stood resolute in his determination and recovered strength. Zangetsu was held in his hands and black shinigami robes hung loosely inside Urahara's secret lair.<p>

"How do you feel?" asked Kisuke Urahara. The eccentric shopkeeper stood in front of the orange-haired boy. No, boy was not the right term. Ichigo was a man, a resolute, strong, and caring person.

"It feels great," smiled Ichigo, "just like before my last fight with Aizen."

"Excellent, Ichigo." laughed Urahara. When Ichigo had first come to him three years ago after losing his powers, Urahara had been skeptical that the young Kurosaki boy would be able to regain his true strength.

Truthfully, the boy did not. The boy ceased to exist after the years of backbreaking effort. For the first year Ichigo had worked without so much as a sliver of progress. None of Urahara's experiments, medications, or exercises had worked. Despite the lack of progress, Ichigo continued to labor forever without as much as a single complaint. His powerlessness only served to strengthen his resolve to regain his lost shinigami powers.

One day, almost two years ago, Ichigo managed to make a break through and pulled himself out of his body. Almost miraculously, he had done so without the aid of a shinigami badge, soul candy, or car bumper to his face. After that progress quickly took off and within days he had resummoned his trusty zanpokuto, Zangetsu. The rest of the time went by quickly as Ichigo strove to recover all that he had lost, including his true bankai and hollow mask.

"You do know what this means, right Ichigo?" asked Urahara as his face turned from a jovial laugh to a serious tone. He knew Ichigo knew, but Urahara just wanted to confirm that he did.

"Yes… Soul Society will come knocking." responded Ichigo. "I knew that it was inevitable when I first came to you."

Ichigo knew what the future would hold. Soul Society and the Gotai 13 would require him to leave the world of the living. For safety reasons, a person with a reiryoku as powerful as Ichigo's had to be controlled and regulated. Left unchecked, the reiatsu that he leaked would harm everyone around him. Simple exposure to even low doses could be likened to radiation poisoning. Even with reiryoku sealing devices, some exposure would happen when he entered his spiritual form. Then Soul Society had to take hollow encounters into account, such a high reiatsu signature served as a magnet for the deadly beasts. The Gotai 13 had let him go home when he had no spirit power, but now Ichigo knew they could not ignore him.

"I don't regret these past three years," laughed Ichigo, "losing my powers has taught me about my true path in life. I can't pretend to be someone that I'm not and I'll regret it every day I try and fight it. You were a great teacher and you are an even greater friend Urahara."

"Please, Ichigo," laughed Urahara, "you make too much of me. Just call me Kisuke."

* * *

><p>Within days Soul society had picked up on Ichigo's reiatsu. Urahara had sent them a missive telling them about Ichigo's intentions. One night when he was walking home from business he found him accosted by three shinigami. They spoke of regulations and that Soul Society would require him to return with them within three days. Mostly though, they were here to celebrate Ichigo's regained strength.<p>

That was how Ichigo found himself at a bar with Renji, Ikkaku, and Yumichika. The shinigami had even brought an official Soul Society credit card as prove of their intentions. They had insisted that they would not be leaving until Ichigo was stone drunk and could not walk. Three hours of drinking later, though, they all had to admit that Ichigo had an amazingly high tolerance for the poison.

"You know, Ichigo," laughed Renji, quite obviously tipsy, "Soul Society has been pretty boring without you."

"Really?" said Ichigo, faking a surprised look by raising an eyebrow. While he waited for Renji to reply he took a sip of his half empty 'Jack and coke'. In all reality, it was one hundred percent soft drink – Ichigo had told the bartender that he was the designated driver and had not drunken any alcohol that night.

"Ya man," shouted a half drunk Ikkaku as he slammed his empty shot glass onto the table and poured himself another sip of the sake he had procured, "In three years not one major incident has occurred. It's boring as hell."

"Soul Society is also still looking for captains…" mumbled a barely conscious Yumichika. Of the three shinigami with Ichigo, Yumichika apparently had the lowest tolerance. Because of this he was drooling with his face resting on top of their table. He had only managed to down a pair of imported beers before entering his inebriated state.

"Seriously, he isn't kidding." said Renji, careful to drop his voice to a low enough level that the other patrons would not be able to hear their conversation. "Don't tell anyone, but they spoke about putting you straight into the ninth squad captaincy without having to go through classes or anything. They were damn serious about it at the last Captains' meeting - which they called specifically because of you."

With that Ichigo's scowl dropped into a truly surprised face. He had expected for Soul Society to put him through the ringer when he got there; not for them to immediately throw him into a leadership position. Moreover, though, how did Renji know what happened at captains' meetings? Urahara had told him that the meetings were only for captains. As if realizing that Ichigo was actually confused, Renji spoke up to clarify the situation."

"There hasn't been anyone capable of bankai in the past three years – such people are rare, you know. Besides, I got promoted to third squad captain two years ago."

_Ah_, thought Ichigo. That clarified things. Ichigo smiled, spoke a few congratulations, and raised his cup in a toast for good health. The three shinigami visitors raised their own cups to reciprocate the toast.

Two hours later, Ichigo found himself half-carrying and half-dragging all three of the visiting shinigami back to Urahara's shop. Combined, the four of them had managed to clean out over half the stock of alcohol in the bar. It was a miracle their gigai had not died on the spot from liver failure. He shuddered to think of the bar tab that the visitors had wrung up – someone was going to be yelling at them all back in Soul Society.

* * *

><p>Three days later…<p>

Ichigo held Yuzu and Karin in a heartwarming embrace. Today was the scheduled day for him to enter Soul Society. Everyone that was close to him had gathered in the great training area underneath Urahara's shop to bid him off, but the effect still felt surreal. Tears fell from Yuzu's face as she cried for her older brother – even though he would see them again eventually, it did not change the fact that he would be missed dearly.

"Chin up Yuzu," said Ichigo in a comforting tone, "I'll be around if you need me."

"But what about your body?" cried Yuzu.

Ichigo frowned because he knew how hard this transition would be on his friends and his family. Official country records would say that Ichigo had been struck by a stolen car and killed instantly. There would be a small ceremony in which his body would be cremated and that would be the end of Ichigo Kurosaki. That had happened yesterday, and Ichigo's ribcage was still a little sore from where Renji had run him over with a 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle.

"Don't worry about that." reassured Ichigo. "You just worry about passing those finals and graduating for me."

Yuzu nodded in agreement and broke their great hug to wipe the tears from her eyes. Ichigo gave his blessings to Karin and turned to his friends. He spoke with Chad, Orihime, and Uryu before turning to Tatsuke and the others. For several minutes he conversed with his friends before Renji mentioned that they were on a schedule.

With that, Ichigo turned to his father. Isshin Kurosaki was conveniently standing next to Urahara and Yoruichi. Goat-chin was in his human body, careful not to let his other children know his great secret and the truth about their ancestry.

"Knock 'em dead." said his father with a great big grin on his face. Ichigo knew that Isshin was proud of any choice that Ichigo made, but he still half expected the old man to attempt some stupid kick or assault on Ichigo before leaving.

Much to his surprise, Isshin moved to hug his son. Dumbfounded, Ichigo echoed the motion until he was inches from embracing his father. At that point the old man shifted his stance and slammed his son into the ground.

"I'm proud of you Ichigo, but you still have much to lear…"

His father was interrupted when Ichigo's rising foot slammed into the man's bearded chin. Immediately the two fell back to the ground in a spontaneous and vicious brawl. Dust kicked around them as they mauled each other, not wanting to give the other person the upper edge advantage. The father and son fought until Urahara interrupted them and physically separated them.

"Not to bother," said the man with a perfect, poker face smile, "but Ichigo really should be going."

With their fight concluded, Ichigo rose from the ground and patted the dust from his shinigami robes. He left his father behind with a black eye and a bloody nose as he nodded and made his way to the portal.

"Well," smiled Ichigo as he took his place next to Renji, Yumichika, and Ikkaku, "I'll see you guys around."

* * *

><p><em><strong>~~~Part Two~~~<strong>_

* * *

><p><em><strong>One year later…<strong>_

"Explain to me again why we're marching through the Siberian tundra…" complained Ichigo Kurosaki.

The bitter and cold wind stung his face while it invaded his thick and heavy winter gear. The shinigami longed to enter leave his gigai and enter his spirit form to avoid the cold. Urahara, on the other hand, had expressly forbidden such an act. As a result, Ichigo was forced to pretend he was marching through a Caribbean tropical paradise to keep warm.

"Because, my dear friend," laughed a jovial Kisuke Urahara (seemingly unaffected by the bitter cold that plagued his companion), "there is great science to do!"

"…"

"…"

"Not impressed…" sighed Ichigo as he continued to walk in the snow behind the crazy shop keeper. Urahara pretended he had not heard the captain's last comment and continued to trudge through the snow.

The damn man had called in a favor, and Ichigo found himself forced to temporarily shovel his duties onto his lieutenant Shuhei Hisagi for the week. When Ichigo had initially turned Urahara down, citing captain's duties, Urahara resorted to blackmail and extortion – Commander Yamamoto himself forced Ichigo into joining Urahara's little romp through the snow. How Urahara had managed to blackmail both Ichigo and the captain commander, Ichigo would never know. Still, once again, Ichigo found himself playing the unwilling pawn in another of the man's crazy and harebrained schemes. Ichigo just prayed he could keep his eyebrows this time – it had taken four weeks to regrow them after the last explosive conclusion to Urahara's plots.

Ichigo had been minding his own business managing squad nine when Kisuke Urahara shanghaied him into the trip. Leaving from Karakura town, they had 'commandeered' a small plane and flown it to an isolated air strip that had been used during the cold war. Afterwards they had 'convinced' a local trapper to give them a ride to a nearby village even more isolated deep inside of a frosty mountain range (though, Ichigo could have sworn that there were no mountains in Russia). The pair of travelers had rested there for a night and resupplied at the villages 'hospitality' before heading out northwards on foot. Of course, that would be spinning Urahara's methods in a rather innocent way.

Urahara's cover story was that they were two friends on a soul trek. Their destination was the North Pole. In all honesty, it could not have been farther from the truth. Somehow, Urahara had found something of importance and apparently required Ichigo's help. Secretly, Ichigo had guessed it was either zombies or aliens; neither was beyond the shopkeeper's curiosity.

The wind began to pick up as the light snow gradually turned into a heavy onslaught of winter's might. Labored footsteps fought against the icy winds as the two continued on their way. In the far distance Ichigo swore he heard the faint howl of a Siberian fox above the rising and increasingly loud wind.

"Not much farther, Ichigo, We're close!" shouted Urahara underneath his winter gear. He was gradually slowing his pace and frequently checking a laminated map and compass against his gps device.

* * *

><p>Urahara led Ichigo up the side of a mountain and the two continued on their way. The bitter cold winds were amplified next to the bare and elevated terrain. Somehow Urahara had managed to guide them to the only safe passage as the snow around them buried massive pine trees in white powder. Around the travelers the mountain range began to rise up and choke out a small area of unforgiving terrain. Finally, Urahara stopped at the inner edge of the mountain pass and pointed triumphantly out towards a small valley nestled between the rocks.<p>

"There's nothing here!" shouted Ichigo, irritation clearly registering from his voice. Urahara was pointing towards a completely empty valley devoid of trees, animals, and even large amounts of snow. The valley was devoid of everything.

Suddenly, Ichigo felt a push against his back and found himself sliding face first down the mountain. The bastard had thrown him off a cliff!

His face ate snow as he desperately tried to break his momentum and stop to no avail. For what seemed like ages, Ichigo fell down the slope. Eventually his body's momentum stopped. Ichigo just lay on the ground and seethed in rage. If he looked up he was going to leave his gigai and castrate the shopkeeper.

"There was a barrier," sounded a voice beside his head. The damned shopkeeper was standing next to him. "Everything inside of it is hidden from the world. No spirits can enter, that is why we needed the gigai. When you're ready… look up."

Ichigo slowly pulled himself up from the ground, and barely managed to contain his anger. As he lifted his head up, though, the anger disappeared into wonder. The empty valley had been replaced by a magnificent city of ice and snow. Beautiful houses glistened in the suddenly clear and calm sun light – apparently the snowstorm had been left behind outside of the barrier. Around the city, great spires rose into the air like grand castle towers and reflected the sun's light in every direction. Long and curvy bridges made of ice and stony stood high above the buildings and danced around the city to provide pathways between the buildings.

"I discovered this place last year," explained Kisuke Urahara, "welcome to the snow fairy village."

* * *

><p>Ichigo stared in wonder at the town while Urahara fiddled with a bag attached to his belt. It was like Urahara had pushed him into a wonderland, hidden deep inside of a mountain away from the world. The irony, of course, being that it was all true. In the distance, Ichigo could feel small and faint reiatsu signatures from what appeared to be the townspeople below. It was interesting, though, because the light spiritual signatures did not feel like anything he had felt before. The reiatsu did not feel like it belonged to either a Shinigami or a Hollow.<p>

Sensing that Ichigo could feel the reiatsu, Urahara spoke with an explanation.

"There are many more sentient creatures on earth than just humans." explained Urahara. "For ages they have remained hidden away and have been a mystery to shinigami due to their nature. When they die, they do not enter into an afterlife, and because of that they remain largely unknown to both Shinigami and Hollows. What happens here in the next day will be a great breakthrough in purification and afterlife sciences."

"We aren't going to kill one…" said Ichigo as he dusted the snow off his winter gear. If Urahara planned on violence here, he could count Ichigo out. He was a captain sworn to protect, not slaughter.

"Oh heavens no, my informant has assured me that someone is going to die here anyways."

_Well_, thought Ichigo. Apparently something was going down and Urahara had knowledge of it. He would get the answers from him later. Right now Ichigo was cold.

* * *

><p>Elsewhere…<p>

The bus sped through the tunnel and crashed into the snowdrift before coming to a screeching halt. Silently the doors slid open and seven passengers disembarked into the middle of a blizzard.

"heh…" laughed the bus driver as he tipped his hat to the passengers, "stay warm."

With that the bus closed its doors and sped off back into the tunnel from which it came. The seven passengers found themselves freezing in the middle of a snowdrift as they held onto both their luggage and themselves for warmth. Clearly they had not expected such cold weather; otherwise they would have dressed for the occasion.

"Snow?" screamed Kurumu Kurono as she jumped onto Mizore Shirayuki in a fit of rage. "This isn't snow… It's a blizzard!"

"Well, you wanted to cool off…" retorted a very nonchalant Mizore. Without much effort the snow fairy shrugged off the succubus's attack and left her cold in the snow.

"Not this cool!" screamed Kurumu, clearly believing she had intentionally been misled. Already the snow was ruining her perfectly straightened hair that she had prepared to attract Tsukune, her mate of fate. "I wanted to go someplace nice! Someplace I can survive!"

"You know how Yokai feels like autumn all year around? Well here it's always winter." Mizore explained as she picked up her bags. She beckoned for her companions to follow her as she made her way towards the barrier in the deep snow. "Don't sweat. It's warmer near my house."

"Just… Try not to get lost."

* * *

><p>"Are you sure about this?" asked Ichigo as he stood in the air, high above a patch of white flowers growing in the snow. Above him, a full moon clearly illuminated the flowers and scene.<p>

His elegant black and white shinigami robes flowed through the winter air just below his white captain's haori. On his back rested the overly large cleaver known as Zangetsu, wrapped cleanly and orderly inside of its long white ribbon. Three braces wrapped around his left arm and drained reiatsu from Ichigo, helping him conceal his presence while draining his powers heavily. Next to Ichigo stood Kisuke Urahara, also in an elegant black kimono (except with a green undercloth). The man's familiar green and white bucket hat donned his head and his sealed zanpokuto rested hidden away in his cane.

Urahara had hidden their gigais away. He said that they would not require their gigais while inside the barrier dome and that they would only serve as a liability. Apparently the monsters would be able to faintly smell their reiatsu, but that was all they could do. While in their shinigami forms they would be able to operate in the open without detection.

"Yes, absolutely." responded the shopkeeper with a perfect poke face. "Are you having second thoughts Ichigo?"

"Just a few, Kisuke"

"Remember, Ichigo, regardless of what we do someone will die soon. We might as well as collect information and, who knows, we might even perform a soul burial."

With that, the two shinigami stood in silence high above the ground in the cold night air. The winter chill had no effect on the shinigami other than leaving a crisp and clean feeling in their breath. For an hour they waited in silence. Neither of the two wanted to enter into a conversation. It was an old fashioned stakeout. Old fashioned stakeouts tended to be boring.

* * *

><p>Just as Ichigo was about to leave, a faint pair of reiatsu signatures grew in strength. Immediately Urahara and Ichigo turned to see a romantic couple approach the flower field on the far side from where the shinigami stood. Ichigo watched as the scene unfolded and felt a pang of pity in his heart.<p>

From the distance he made out a male and a female – probably a romantic pair of teenage heartthrobs. The male appeared to be an Asian boy, with short black hair and a black leather coat. The female was significantly more interesting. Her wavy purple hair flowed through the night breeze while her body was wrapped in a beautiful, white yukata. For the slightest of seconds, Ichigo felt for the girl. Whether it was attraction or pity – Ichigo did not want to know.

He watched as the girl set the boy down and moved to the flowers. For several minutes they just stood by the side of the field and talked. Next to Ichigo, Urahara was using a listening device and taking a tape recording of their conversation. The action irritated Ichigo slightly; surely the couple deserved a little time alone. He knew it would be useless to chastise Urahara, though, because the shopkeeper would just brush it off as scientific evidence.

The girl pulled a flower from the field and turned to the boy. With tears in her eyes she dropped the flower and untied her yukata. She bared herself in front of the boy while Urahara took pictures. Ichigo swore to himself that he would smash the memory card later but that was beside the point. The boy moved towards the girl and pulled the girls dress back above her breasts and spoke with her. Suddenly the girl pushed the boy to the ground, all the while crying little crystals of ice.

Ichigo's heart felt for the girl. Clearly the boy was rejecting her advances and it was breaking her heart. Similar things had happened when he had told Orihime of his decision to return to Soul Society. He knew how hard the rejection would be for her, such things were never easy.

What happened next shocked both Ichigo and Urahara.

* * *

><p>From out of nowhere an avalanche erupted behind the tree line next to the couple. The snow buried both of them before swirling into a small tornado of force. Ichigo wanted to move to help them, but he knew Urahara would forbid such an action.<p>

"The avalanche is taking a shape." observed Urahara.

True enough to his words, the avalanche of force swirled into the shape of a beautiful woman made of snow. Long strands of snow and ice branched downwards from her lower body giving her the appearance of a legendary genie. Beautiful white hair was adorned with a golden crown as her arms carried fallen female of the couple.

"I have found you…" radiated a beautiful voice from the woman. Her voice was loud yet soft, and radiated clearly through the field. She gazed deeply with a caring smile at the girl before turning upwards, looking straight at the shinigami. "The girl of my prophecy…"

With that the woman took off and stole away into the night. Urahara motioned to Ichigo and the two took off with a quick burst of shunpo to follow the figure.

* * *

><p><em><strong>~~~ Part three ~~~<strong>_

* * *

><p>Tsukune, Kurumu, and Yukari stormed up the icy castle's many pathways. Behind them lay the beaten body of Miyabi Fujisaki. To pass him, Tsukune had unleashed a brutally powerful burst of strength in the form of a right hook to his face. The act had ensured his silence and allowed them to pass, and pass they had.<p>

In front of them, their path was guided by the icy trail left behind by Mizore's shattered ice clone. Frost and water puddled on the ground in a winding pathway around the castle, guiding them to their destination. With all their strength the trio ran as fast as they could to find their friend. Time was of the essence, and they were resolved to bring her back home.

After several stories and many turns, Tsukune and his friends found themselves in front of a padlocked and reinforced door covered in ice. Inside, the faint echoes of a crying snow fairy could be heard. They had reached their destination.

_Just wait Mizore_, thought Tsukune as he worked to break through the barrier.

Splinters rocked from the door as he slammed his fist into the lock with all his power. The first barrier of ice shattered easily, but the door was proving to be a little more difficult. With another punch the wooden frame splintered and began to tilt inwards. One more punch would break through and reunite the companions.

"Mizore!" shouted Tsukune as he slammed his fist into the door a third time. Immediately the door collapsed and exploded off its frame, allowing the trio to storm the room.

* * *

><p>"Hey…" said Mizore as she hung out an open window. "I told you all not to come."<p>

With one arm and her legs, the snow girl had secured herself dangerously over the ledge of an open window. Below her six floors of windows measured the distance to the ground. The cold wind blew through the window and gusted violently behind her – her own yukata rippled in the wind. After the sheer drop, a field of icy and razor sharp stalagmites waited on the ground to catch her.

"What are you doing Mizore?" asked a panicked Kurumu in a half shout. The succubus was desperate to dissuade Mizore from her present course of action. After all they had done for her, she would not let Mizore drop to her death. "I know it's been rough, but we're going to…"

"I'm sorry…" interrupted Mizore. She closed her eyes and let go of the ledge.

Immediately the wind caught her body and tipped her off balance. Without her arm to stabilize her, Mizore fell off the ledge and plummeted towards the ground. With her eyes closed, she heard the wind rush around her body. Tears flew upwards from her face as they were caught in the air. With her back facing the ground, Mizore knew that the impact would kill her. If that didn't, the field of razor sharp ice would.

* * *

><p>"You idiot!" screamed Kurumu.<p>

With all of her strength, the succubus transformed into her true form and rushed with inhuman speed towards the window. Her demonic wings spread and rose to take flight as she prepared to jump through the open window. She neared the window and leapt to cross the barrier.

With a crash, she slammed face first into an invisible barrier where the open window should have been. Immediately she recoiled backwards in shock. Without thinking she attempted to jump through the window a second time. Once again, she crashed into an impassable barrier. Dejected by her inability to save her friend, Kurumu collapsed into a heap on the ground. She sobbed as she felt her own powerlessness.

Tsukune moved to the window and reached out to the barrier. Upon touching it he felt an electrical surge go through his arm and he immediately pulled away. With tears in everyone's eyes, Tsukune went to Kurumu and hugged her. She began to cry on his shoulder as she moved to return the embrace. In the distance, they heard the heartrending sound of smashed ice as the sound echoed through the air. As hard as they had tried, they had failed.

* * *

><p>Ichigo waited on the ground between the icy spikes. Urahara had suddenly been called away to cover immediate and pressing issues (he had not told Ichigo what they were, but that they would take five to ten minutes). Before leaving, Urahara had told Ichigo the plan and thoroughly insisted that Ichigo had to play his role perfectly because there was simply too much at stake. As much as the idea insulted Ichigo, the shinigami captain knew that there would be hell to pay if he intervened and stopped the situation from advancing further.<p>

He sighed as he watched the snow fairy dangle precariously over the ledge. Urahara had told him that her name was Mizore Shirayuki. In exchange for her life, the Gotai 13 had sworn to protect the village from outside influence that could harm it. Apparently, that was the information that Urahara had used to convince commander Yamamoto into sending Ichigo. For such a 'small' price, the shinigami would gain precious insight into the death cycle and afterlife of monsters – at least, the snow fairy.

It sickened Ichigo to force such a fate upon the young girl. No one deserved a fate such as to be sacrificed for her home. Still, Urahara had explained that it was for the greater good, and that without the shinigami help the community would be destroyed. For that reason alone, Ichigo remained where he was and did not attempt to push the girl back into the room.

Ichigo stared upwards as he watched the girl let go. Urahara had planted recording devices around him in case he was unable to return when the girl died. Regardless of the presence of devices, Ichigo would be the only witness to the poor girl's fate. Ichigo was to take notes, mental observations, and tag her before performing a soul burial so that they could find her if she successfully passed into Soul Society.

Mizore plummeted to the ground with a surprising speed. Ichigo watched as she cut through the air and fell with a resignation. He questioned if Mizore knew what lay in front of her. Maybe she knew and accepted her fate; maybe she was not oblivious to the afterlife. Those thoughts were cut short when her body hit the ground.

* * *

><p>Mizore's body hit the ground with a sickening sound. Between the stalagmite shards her body's frame shattered against the icy soil. The trauma of the collision killed her instantly as it broke her body. Immediately afterwards her soul was ejected from its mortal coil as it popped back upwards into the air in a scarring bounce. That was when Ichigo noted the difference between monsters and humans; as well as why they had always been unknown to shinigami.<p>

Mizore thought that the impact would have killed her instantly. Instead, to her painful surprise, the impacted registered throughout her body and surged through her nerves as she felt herself rise upwards and back downwards again. Newton's third law was illustrated as her body fell to the ground a second time.

She screamed in surprised pain as she opened her eyes. Slowly she twisted her body on the ground to orient herself. From her back she rolled over onto all four of her limbs before sitting upwards with her knees and feet on the ground. She scanned her body as she realized that she was unharmed – for all the impact of the collision, not a single broken bone or bruise registered on her body. She felt light, and Mizore's mind told her that the impact should have killed her. Still, she was sitting there alive. She laughed in shock as she stared upwards into the sky, oblivious to her surroundings.

_I can't even kill myself properly_, she thought as she slowly brought her face back down to figure out where she was. She smiled and laughed in disbelief – finding just a sliver of humor in the situation. Then she saw her lifeless body lying on the ground next to her.

Mizore's smile faded away as she stared into her lifeless eyes in horror. Blood dripped from her dead mouth as it hung open next to the ground. Her body was sprawled on the ground, mangled and broken. It appeared that every bone in her body had been broken on the impact, her limbs twisted in unnatural ways. Around the corpse, a small pool of cold blood slowly spread from the center of her frame. The liquid clotted in her yukata temporarily before spreading further onto the ground like a spilled drink.

"I'm… dead…" said Mizore as tears fell from her eyes. "I… don't understand…"

Regret filled her heart as the reality sunk in. She closed her eyes and fell back to the ground on all four limbs. Resignation filled her mind and she slowly began to feel lighter around her bodies. Numbing cold slowly invaded her body from the outside in. Just as slowly, she found that it was becoming increasingly hard for her to think. All she could feel was the terrible emptiness that began to fill her mind.

Suddenly, she felt something different. A great stabbing pain rolled across her nerves and came from her back. She lost consciousness as a voice said something indiscernible to her.

* * *

><p><em>So<em>, thought Ichigo, _It's that simple. Tragic._

Ichigo watched in the background as Mizore cried next to her body. All the mysteries had been solved, all his questions answered. Snow fairies, and possibly all monsters, had no chain of fate. Without something like that to tether them to their bodies they would not be able to pass on to the next life. It suddenly became no question why shinigami had never purified non-humans before; it was impossible. The girl had died to expose such a simple fact, and soon she would fade into oblivion.

Ichigo had seen what happened to people without a chain of fate. They did not become pluses or hollows. They just died – there was no way to purify their soul. Situations like that had happened before, it was just theorized that some individuals were born without them naturally. The idea that they were actually monsters was conveniently missed. Pity filled Ichigo's heart as he registered Mizore's fate.

Much to the captain's horror, the snow girl slowly faded from existence. Like a fallen shinigami or hollow, her body was slowly becoming transparent and ephemeral. It saddened Ichigo, to be unable to anything. He shook his head and scowled while he insulted himself. He would not sit by powerless while someone died a needless and pointless death.

With a quick shunpo, Ichigo found himself standing behind Mizore. Zangetsu was raised in his arms and angled at the snow fairies back. The effort was likely for nothing, but any attempt was better than nothing. With that in mind, he thrust his zanpokuto into the girls back and poured energy into her body. He performed the soul burial on her body with the utmost of haste and desperately tried to stabilize her body before it disappeared forever. He mixed a small amount of his own reiryoku into the mixture as he tried to restore her soul.

"Everything will be alright," Ichigo said, half to calm the girl and half to reassure himself.

He continued the ritual and smiled when he saw her body begin to reverse the fading process. Pride rushed through his body as he finished the ritual and pulled Zangetsu out of her back. Slowly he set the girl back down onto the ground and turned to the girl's dead body. He closed his eyes as he untied her yukata and unwrapped her body before laying the fabric in such a way so that it covered her entire body. Then he waited for Urahara to return.

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><p><em><strong>The End?<strong>_

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><p><strong>AN: If you reached this point than you probably read the entire story. Please take an extra five minutes from your day to drop a review *puppy dog eyes***


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